Axel M. Mosler photographed Salvador Dalí – an extraordinary encounter

‘Lokalzeit aus Dortmund’ will be broadcast on WDR on Thursday, 30 July 2026, between 7.30 pm and 8.00 pm.

WDR Livestream „Lokalzeit aus Dortmund“

(Based on an interview with Axel M. Mosler and Claude W. Sui on 29 July 2026.)

In 1974, when he was 21 years old and studying photography, Axel M. Mosler set off in his VW Beetle for Cadaqués in Catalonia, not far from Port Lligat, where Salvador Dalí lived. He spent almost two days near the house, hoping to catch a glimpse of the famous artist. Finally, he plucked up the courage to ring the doorbell, thinking that at worst he would simply be sent away.

But things turned out quite differently.

A friendly housekeeper opened the door and, much to the young photographer’s surprise, led him into the garden. There, Salvador Dalí was sitting on a bench with his current muse, the Franco-British singer, painter, presenter, actress and model Amanda Lear. The two of them were busy designing a poster.

Dalí asked Mosler, in English, which country he was from. When Mosler finally asked, somewhat shyly, if he could take a photograph of him, Dalí agreed without hesitation.

The ensuing photo session revealed a Dalí quite different from the public persona. While the artist liked to present himself to the public as eccentric, striking dramatic poses and cultivating the image of a 'genius on the cusp of genius and madness', Mosler found him to be reserved, friendly and polite without a trace of starry airs and graces when far from the spotlight.

Dalí had long been a media icon and knew how to use his public image to great effect. With his distinctive upturned moustache and spectacular public appearances, he was one of the first artists to present himself as a media event. Long before the age of social media, he had a masterful understanding of how to combine art, performance and self-promotion.

This makes the moment Axel M. Mosler captured with his camera all the more remarkable.

During the photo shoot, the young photographer said to Dalí, 'Señor Dalí, could you look like Dalí?' Dalí then pushed his glasses up and opened his eyes wide. Mosler captured this exact moment. This is the only photograph of this pose that exists.

But the encounter was far from over. Dalí dictated the course of the photo session in his own unique way. First, he told Mosler, 'You have 15 more minutes.' The young photographer made the most of the remaining time and continued to take photographs with his 6 x 6 cm medium-format camera.

Once the 15 minutes had elapsed, Dalí granted Mosler an additional 10 minutes, then 5 minutes, and finally 1 minute. Mosler took photographs in the garden and inside the house, including those of the famous red 'Dalilips Sofa', designed by Dalí himself.

It was only when that final minute had passed that Dalí brought the unusual photo session to a close, saying that he had to go to lunch. The extensions had evidently served one purpose above all: to pass the time while waiting for lunch.

By this point, Mosler had already used up half of the film he had brought with him, exposing ten rolls.

The extraordinary portrait photographs of Salvador Dalí subsequently lay dormant for more than half a century in Axel M. Mosler’s archive. One of Mosler's photographs had already been published in the March 1989 issue of Art Kunstmagazin under the title 'Salvador Dalí – What Remains of His Greatness'. However, it was only after a conversation with a friend, who found it hard to believe that Mosler had met Dalí in person and photographed him, that he was given the decisive impetus: he was advised to show the photographs to the Museum of Art and Cultural History in Dortmund, specifically its photography department.

The reaction was enthusiastic from the outset. Two photographs were subsequently purchased in the 50 x 60 cm format, with more to follow.

Axel Mosler has been fascinated by Salvador Dalí since his student days. Inspired by Dalí’s autobiography How to Become Dalí, he engaged intensively with the artist’s life and work as part of an art history project during his studies. His fascination with Dalí has endured to this day.

Axel M. Mosler is now speaking on WDR about this extraordinary encounter and the photographs that had been hidden away in his archive for over 50 years.

The German Photographic Academy congratulates its member of honour, Axel M. Mosler, on this special rediscovery, and is delighted that his photographs of Salvador Dalí are now being presented to a wide audience.

Thursday, 30 July 2026, between 7:30 pm and 8:00 pm, “Lokalzeit aus Dortmund”, WDR.